The 43-year snail mail journey to deliver postcard

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A POSTCARD sent to a Pocklington address proved to be a very special delivery – arriving more than 43 years after it was posted.

Local vicar Geoffrey Hollingsworth admits he was stunned to find the old postcard on his doormat on Saturday morning addressed to a previous occupant of the town’s vicarage from more than four decades ago.

Sent by the late Canon Graham Christie, who had been a priest in the Pocklington in the 60s, it was addressed to his wife, Mrs Christie, at The Balk address. With just four lines of writing on the reverse, it recommends a book for her to read.

It had been sent from Acaster, and the stamp – which shows a very young image of the Queen – cost Canon Christie 3d, or three pence in old money. The date in the corner is written as 27 January, 1967.

Reverend Hollingsworth explained: “As the postman arrived at the vicarage on Saturday I happened to be in the hallway and I noticed him in the glass panelled door.

“When the post came through the letterbox, on top was this postcard and I noticed the old 1960s 3d stamp.

“I went out to speak with him and he confirmed he’d just pushed it through- we both looked in amazement when we saw the date.

“He double checked it and we both wondered where it had been all this time! I was just so surprised – at first I thought it was a joke.

“There’s only four lines of writing, which in itself is a bit of mystery.

“I went to someone who personally knew Canon Graham Christie and they confirmed it was his handwriting.

“I’m not blaming the Post Office for the delay – on the contrary, I would like to thank them for taking the time to deliver it – better late than never!

“I was just delighted that I did not have to pay out to have it delivered because of that old stamp!”

Canon Christie had served Pocklington’s community between 1960 and 1982. He was the first person to move into the new vicarage on The Balk.

Following his retirement, he continued to work at All Saints’ Church in Shiptonthorpe. After his death in 2002, an altar kneeler at the village church was dedicated to his memory.

Revd Hollingsworth said Canon Christie was a well-known figure around the area, and had a long-standing interest in history which led him to write the booklet ‘A History of Pocklington Church’ in 1974.

“It was interesting that this postcard should have arrived on the Saturday because it was the National Heritage Day weekend and Pocklington Local History Group did a full exhibition in the church – Canon Christie was very keen on church history,” added Revd Hollingsworth.

Revd Hollingsworth says he will contact Canon Christie’s family to ask if they would like to keep the postcard, otherwise it will be handed to the Pocklington Local History Group.

The Post also contacted the Post Office for an explanation as to why it took 43 years to deliver the postcard.

A spokesman said: “Without seeing this item it is impossible to speculate as to what has happened. However, it is very unlikely that this item has been in our system for any length of time as all machinery and buildings are checked regularly. It is most likely that this has recently been put back into the system and subsequently delivered.”